PETROCARIBE Members to Receive 185,700 Barrels a Day of Crude from Venezuela´s State Oil Company

Venezuela´s state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) will supply the fourteen Caribbean nations that signed an accord joining the Petrocaribe regional energy scheme with a total 185,700 barrels a day (b/d) of oil, PDVSA president and energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters earlier this week.

Of that total, Cuba is currently getting 98,000 b/d, while the Dominican Republic will get 50,000 b/d, Jamaica 14,000 b/d and the remaining countries 23,700 b/d.

The Caribbean heads of state, except Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, signed the Petrocaribe accord in the Venezuelan resort city of Puerto La Cruz, in Anzoategui state, on June 29.

These countries will be able to finance their oil import bills as the price of crude rises, Mr. Ramirez pointed out.

With Venezuelan oil currently selling at about $40 a barrel, Caribbean countries will be able to finance about 30 percent of their purchases for 15 years at a 2 percent annual interest rate, Minister Ramirez said.

If the price exceeds $50 a barrel, the interest rate drops to 1 percent a year and the amount that can be financed goes up to 40 percent for as long as 25 years.

"There are no discounts for anybody, this is the market price, what we have here is more flexible financing conditions," Mr. Ramirez went on to explain.

In addition countries can barter goods and services for Venezuelan oil. When asked what Venezuela could import from the Caribbean, the PDVSA President answered "bananas and sugar."